Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:55 pm on 13 October 2021.
Thank you. Two thousand, nine hundred and ninety cattle were slaughtered in the second quarter of this year, pushing the number of animals killed due to bovine TB to 6,175. Now, through me helping one of my constituents, where they are struggling with a bTB breakdown, you wrote to me advising, and I quote, that valuations do not have to be agreed by the farmer and the market value cannot be appealed. Welsh Government guidance notes on TB compensation state,
'The market value of an animal slaughtered for TB will be paid as compensation in most cases.'
What is unfair, though, is the cap on compensation being £5,000, because this particular farmer has some that are worth considerably more thousands than five. He shows them as well, you see. So, a pedigree bull could easily be worth well over £5,000. So, Minister, would you have a look again at the cap and extend that right to allow farmers to appeal, to challenge that value given to them? They're already devastated at the time of slaughter, but let's make sure that they get true and equal compensation. Diolch.